Since childhood, Dave Droxler has felt he had a special connection to Robin Williams.
He first saw the beloved actor and comedian in the 1980s, in Nick at Nite reruns of “Mork & Mindy” and screenings of Robert Altman’s cult-favorite live-action film “Popeye.”
At first, Droxler didn’t know the same actor played both the hyper sitcom alien and the spinach-chomping sailor. He was simply drawn to a buzzing performative energy he felt mirrored his own.
“It was around that time I realized, ‘Oh, this guy. I love this guy, and I feel really drawn to him because he feels like an older version of me,” Droxler said.
Droxler, who grew up near Philadelphia, went on to study theater at Point Park University and launch an acting career. He never did meet Williams. But in 2023 — nearly a decade after Williams’ death — he premiered “Robin & Me: My Little Spark of Madness.” The one-man stage show explores what he calls his imaginary friendship with the actor, complete with Droxler’s own spot-on Robin Williams impression.
“Robin & Me” gets its Pittsburgh premiere Wed., Jan. 22, to Sun., Jan. 26, at Point Park’s Pittsburgh Playhouse.
In the 80-minute show, Droxler plays multiple characters, including himself, trying to tell his story, and Williams, who frequently breaks the fourth wall to interrupt him.
“Robin is constantly just like the MC of it all, so he can go in and out and change things, and control the whole set if he needs to,” said Droxler.
“Robin & Me” premiered Off-Broadway at Abingdon Theatre Company, where it won five BroadwayWorld Awards, including best actor, best director and best new play. This past October it received a second production, at Philadelphia’s Hedgerow Theatre.
In his youth, Droxler saw the star of “Dead Poets Society” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” as a mentor, even a sort of surrogate parent in light of his troubled relationship with his own father. He recalls the night when, as a Point Park freshman, he leaped to his feet in front of his dorm room TV and wept for happiness when Williams won an Oscar for his role in “Good Will Hunting.”
After graduation, Droxler moved to New York, and Williams became even more of an inspiration for the scuffling young actor.
“I was like, ‘Why can’t I book anything, what’s happening here?’” he said. “Then I would find if I start doing kinda like a watered-down version of him, that my creativity felt like it just opened up doors and then I would start booking jobs because I was now doing things that people weren’t expecting.”
Droxler, who lives in New York City, does a lot of voiceover work, including for animated series like Nick Jr.'s “Santiago of the Seas” and Cartoon Network’s “Mecha Builders.”
“Robin & Me” also honors the way Droxler found an imaginary Williams offering him advice upon the death of his beloved grandfather — a stage clown and another role model — or when Droxler was going through puberty and his father wasn’t much help.
“I wanted to tell the story of how pivotal he was at certain points and that he was almost like a Jiminy Cricket,” Droxler said.
In a time when many acclaimed artists and performers are being called to account for personal misdeeds, Droxler isn’t claiming that Williams, who struggled with substance abuse and mental health problems, was perfect. He’s just trying to honor the impact one artist had through his art.
And while he never encountered Williams, he did meet Sal Biagini, who served as Williams’ stand-in on movie sets for a quarter-century.
“He was just like, ‘Oh, Robin would have loved this, if he got to see this,’” Droxler said.
“Robin & Me” gets five performances. More information is here.
